Refillable typewriter eraser



July 9, 1940. A. D. LEE 2,207,296

REFILLABLE TYPEWRITER ERASER Filed March 11, 1940 ALBEET 0. LEE,

Patented July 9, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 6 Claims.

My invention relates to refillable typewriter erasers, and its objectsare to substitute for the usual movable rubber disc in such erasers, aform of eraser which is firmly held in its holder against movement whileit is being used; to provide a better means for holding and feeding theunused portion of the rubber as it is being worn down; readily to adjustand to lock the rubber in various positions within its holder; to guardthe unused portions of the rubber from becoming smeared or soiled so asto impair its use; to accomplish the ready and practicable assembly ofthe rubber and parts of its holder, and the taking apart of the same forreplacement of the rubber after becoming worn down, and in general tosimplify and render more effective the operation of the several parts.

An important characteristic of my invention is the narrow shafted eraserstick and holder which each is made so slender and elongated as torender 'it possible for ready insertion within a fraction of the spacerequired for the effective operation of the ordinary disc typewritereraser. By bevelling the end of the eraser stick and by mounting thereona resilient catch, specially designed for the purpose, I am enabled toinstall the said stick within its holder with a minimum of time andeffort, and at the same time to dispense with the cumbrous braceletcatches'which have been considered necessary in this connection, and toemploy means of attachment much more economical and eifective than thoseheretofore used. In my improved construction. it has been my endeavoralso to form the stick of such thinness asto make it feasible solely toerase at one time a single letter or numeral of the imprinted characterwithout disturbing the adjacent matter. While for such purpose, myeraser stick is of the material required for ink erasures, theconstruction of my invention is such that such stick may readily beremoved and a pencil eraser substituted should an eraser of thischaracter be desired. An important feature of my invention of interestto stenographers is that my improved form of construction, being long,narrow and of little thickness, will be of great advantage when erasingmistakes in carbon copies while still in the typewriter, as for example,when a mistake is to be found at the bottom of a page where it is nextto impossible in using the usual form of circular disc to preventrolling the copies so far forward as to force the same out of alignmentwhen returned to typing position. In such case, however, in using myimproved device such amount of rolling would not be required, the formof such device being such as to permit its ready insertion forcorrection of the error without material movement of the copies ordisturbing their relative position.

Attention is hereby directed to the accompanying drawing, illustrating apreferred form of my invention, in which similar numerals of designationrefer to similar parts throughout the several views, and in which:

Figure l is a plan view of said preferred form, showing all of the partsassembled and in operative position;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical section on line 2-2 of Figure 1,looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 3 is an enlarged view of a portion of Figure 2, showing thebevelled end of the rubber .stick and adjacent parts; the resilientcatch being shown in normal raised position and in engagement with apair of stops;

Figure 4 is a somewhat similar view to that illustrated in Figure 3, thebevelled end of the rubber stick being shown depressed to permit thecatch to be thrown out of engagement with the stops;

Figure 5 is a lateral section on line 5-5 of Figure 4, looking in thedirection of the arrows, and

Figure 6 is a side view of the bevelled end of the eraser stick in theact of being inserted within the hollow shank of the holder.

Referring to the drawing. I preferably construct the shank 8 of theholder in the form of an elongated sheath composed of metal, plastic orother suitable material, which sheath is preferably rectangular in crosssection, but may be round, square, polygonal, or any desiredconfiguration. Within one end of such shank I provide the socket 9, inwhich is installed the back III of the brush H, a rivet 12, passingthrough the opening 13 in the Wall of said socket and through theopening I4 in said back, serving to secure said brush to said shank. Cutthrough one side of said shank 8, and extending longitudinally thereofis the slot I5, which preferably is of substantial length and is locatedabout the center of the face of the holder, and is provided with theindentations or rectangular shaped openings or stops l6. Encased by theshank 8, and conforming to the bore thereof while being readily slidabletherein, is the eraser stick H, which is preferably of rubber but whichmay be of any elastic or resilient material capable of performing eraserservice. Preferaby the end of the shank or holder 8 forming the mouththereof is constructed with pointed lips l8; the end l9 of the stick I!protruding therefrom being pointed accordingly or becoming such whenused by reason of the contour of said lips, which permit and encourage Ithe top thereof, to form a wedged shaped prow. Firmly afllxed to saidbevelled shaped end, is the metallic clip 22 provided with the upwardlyextending catch 23 shaped to engage with pairs of the oppositelydisposed indentations or stops l5, and to be disengaged therefrom bydownward pressure upon the resilient finger-hold 24 of said catch. Inorder to insure the proper affixation of said clip 22 to the inner endof the stick H, I prefer to extend the lower part 21 of said clipcompletely through the mass of said stick and to clinch the same uponthe opposite side thereof (see Figure 3), preferably taking care toavoid penetrating any of the material constituting the bevelled portion25.

The advantages of such bevelled portions as combine with said catch,will become apparent upon inspection of Figures 3, 4, 5 and 6. As willbe observed in Figure 6, the stick I! may be inclined so as readily topermit the insertion of the inner end of the stick between the lips l8and into the mouth of the shank 8; the face of the bevelled portion 25engaging with the lower inner wall of said shank and allowing thefingerhold 24 of the catch 22 to clear the upper inner wall of saidshank. Such engagement having been effected, a slight further thrust isall that is required to cause the catch to engage with the slot l5 andupon proceeding further to engage with the first pair of stops l6, or byconstantly depressing the said catch by downward pressure upon saidfinger hold 24, to advance the stick until completely installed andengagement made by the catch with the last pair of stops. As shown inFigures 4 and 5, the bevelling 25 readily permits the inner end of thestick to afford a yielding contact of the catch with all parts of theadjacent shank it may touch, whether it be the wall of the bore of theshank or the slot IE or stops i6. At the same time, upon pressureupon'the finger-hold 24 being released, the clasticity of the stick andthe resiliency of the catch is such that contact with a pair of stopsonce being effective, the parts will remain in operative position untilmanual readjustment is made.

My invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presentembodiments, as above set forth and described, are therefore to beconsidered as illustrative and as not restrictive, the scope of myinvention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by theforegoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning andrange of equivalency of the claims are therefore to be embraced therein.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a refillable eraser, the combination of a holder having ahollowshank, a slot in said shank provided with stops, an eraser stick shapedto engage with the bore of said shank and to slide therein and'havingone end protruding therefrom, the enclosed end of said eraser stickbeing reduced in size and being yieldably free within said bore to moveaway from said slot, and a catch mounted upon said reduced end andconstructed to move therewith and to facilitate the ready insertion ofsaid stick within the bore of said shank and to make releasable contactwith said stops.

2. In a refillable eraser, the combination of a holder having a hollowshank, said shank having a slot therein provided with stops, an eraserstick shaped to engage with the bore of said shank and to slide thereinand having one end protruding therefrom, the enclosed end of said eraserstick being bevelled to form a wedge-shaped prow in proximity with saidslot, said prow being yieldingly free within said bore to move away fromsaid slot, and a resilient catch mounted upon said bevelled end, andconstructed to move therewith and to make releasable contact with saidstops.

3. In a refillable eraser, the combination of a holder with an elongatedhollow shank, said shank having an elongated slot and the edge of saidshank adjacent thereto being provided with indentations forming stops,an elongated shaped eraser slidably engaging with the bore of said shankand having a bevelled inner end, said end being yieldingly free withinsaid bore to move away from said slot, a catch mounted upon said eraserin connection with said bevelled end, located adjacent to said slot andconstructed to cooperate with said end to move therewith and to makecontact with said stops.

4. In a refillable typewriter eraser, the combination of a holder withan elongated rectangular hollow shank, said shank having an elongatedslot and the edges of said shank forming said slot being provided withpairs of oppositely opposed indentations forming stops, an elongatedrectangularly shaped eraser slidably engaging with the bore ofsaid shankand having a bevelled inner end, said end being yieldingly free withinsaid bore to move away from said slot, a catch mounted upon said eraserin connection with said bevelled end, said catch being located adjacentto said slot and constructed to cooperate with said end to movetherewith and to make contact with one of the pairs of said stops.

5. In a refillable typewriter eraser, the combination of a holder withan elongated rectangular hollow shank, said shank having an elongatedslot the edges of which in said shank are provided with pairs ofoppositely opposed indentations forming stops, an elongated erasershaped to slidably engage with the bore of said shank and to protrudefrom the mouth thereof, and having a uniformly bevelled inner end whichis yieldingly free within said bore to move away from said slot, a catchpermanently mounted upon said eraser in connection with said bevelledend, said catch being located adjacent to said slot and constructed toco-operate with said end and to move therewith and to make contact withone of the pairs of said stops.

6. In a refillable eraser, the combination of a holder with a hollowshank, said shank being provided on one side thereof with stops, aneraser stick shaped to engage with the bore of said shank and to slidetherein and to have one end protruding therefrom, the enclosed end ofsaid eraser stick being flat on the side adjacent to said ALBERT 1).LEE.

